Additional Chapel-Forum section benefits students

Nov. 7, 1997

Editorial

Additional Chapel-Forum

section benefits students

As of next semester, students will no longer have to worry about juggling their schedules around 10 a.m. Chapel-Forum. The Chaplain's Office has decided to add another section of Chapel to accommodate students. The new section is being offered at 11 a.m., Monday and Wednesday in Waco Hall.

The new section of Chapel is being offered to students due to an increase in university enrollment. In the past, students have had trouble registering for Chapel because it was only offered at one time.

Because Chapel-Forum is a university requirement, most students have to take it for two semesters sometime during their career as a Baylor student. Many departments on campus offer classes required to complete major programs at 10 a.m. Upper level classes, in particular, pose problems for transfers and other students who have not completed their Chapel requirement, but need to take classes for their majors that may not be offered every semester. These students are sometimes forced to take an upper-level religion course to fulfill their Chapel requirement so they can graduate. This is unfair, because while Chapel students are quietly dozing or socializing with friends, unluckier students are writing papers and reading textbooks to fulfill the same requirement.

The new section will make scheduling classes a lot easier. Also, there will be less probability that students who want to take Chapel won't be able to get into it. The new section allows for 1,350 more students to enroll in the class.

The increased need for speakers and special programs may cause funding and scheduling problems for the Chaplain's office. However, twice as many open slots will mean that more organizations with important messages or that are in need of exposure will have a chance to be heard by twice as many people. There will be more opportunities for educating and entertaining students. As a result, more students will be better informed about events on their campus and in their community.

When every other core curriculum class offers several sections to accomodate students, it only makes sense to offer more than one section of Chapel. This decision has been a long time coming, and students who need more options for class schedules will appreciate it.